


Ut Eruat Te

by TheExplodingPen



Series: James Bond Prompt Fills [4]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: 00Q Exchange, Alcohol, Angst, Fireworks, Fluff, Gift Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Mission Fic, New Year's Eve, Q is a genius, female R
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-26
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-06 06:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1103790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheExplodingPen/pseuds/TheExplodingPen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working late, Q is resigned to another NYE alone…or maybe not.</p><p>00Q prompt: Working late, Q is resigned to another NYE alone…or maybe not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ut Eruat Te

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FlutterFyre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlutterFyre/gifts).



It wasn't anything official. Protocol stated that agents had to leave the premises for at least 72 hours after a mission, for longer if the assignment had been for more than three months. On paper, they all did, but the reality was that the agents, Double Ohs especially, crashed in a set of bunks Tanner had ordered built for just that purpose. They were on hand if something went horribly wrong, and it was easier for everyone to keep a bit of an eye on them there.

007 was never one of the agents to /stay/ at MI6. He would check in, usually days late, drop off his kit and then disappear, sometimes leaving a debrief on Mallory's desk, and more often not leaving anything at all. It was one of those things that everyone just /knew/; 007 followed his own rules.

After Q became Quartermaster, however, R and Alec noticed a few changes in 007's behaviour. The tendency to not return equipment stayed the same, but the agent began to return on time, and he spent more and more of his post-mission decompression time in Q-Branch and the bunks. R maintained no illusions – there was something that Bond wanted, and he simply hadn't gotten it yet.

Weeks came and went, though, and Bond's habits didn't change. If anything, they settled, becoming more and more /normal/ as time went on. After two months of it, R stopped worrying. If 007 had any ulterior motives, Q could very well handle them himself. He was capable of turning down a proposition or two.

He wasn't, however, capable of regulating his own work schedule. It was usually R who kicked him out of the Branch after a three or four day stretch, who made him go home and shower and eat and /sleep/. She would handle the Branch in his absence, as per her job description. And if Alec spent more time in Q-Branch than when Q was there, well... at least he wasn't out causing trouble with 007.

The stubborn agent finally gave in, and the Quartermaster agreed, and R won her bet with Alec, which cost him dinner at Dabbous* and a weekend in Switzerland. After Q and 007 became an item, the task of making sure the boffin ate and slept fell to 007 when he was in country, and to R on the few occasions when the agent couldn't convince Q to go to bed from the comms. R didn't even want to think about the fact that Q very rarely left the comm at work.

As the end of the year wrapped up, R made certain that Q would have the new year to himself. Alec was on a mission, but 007 was supposed to be back on English soil by then, and Q deserved to spend the night with his boyfriend doing whatever they did however they did it, and _no_ , R was not going to go down that train of thought because thinking about Q having sex was like realizing that her brother _liked_ girls.

007's mission didn't go well.

Q was on the comms for close to nine hours straight, and at the end of it, there still wasn't a clear idea of if 007 would make it home at all, much less for the holiday. Suddenly, R regretted making sure Q had the time off, and at her request, he agreed to stay in Q-Branch, even though he knew that R simply wanted to keep an eye on him.

Q was in his private office when Alec came into the Branch. R looked up, welcome and worry written on her face at the same time as she pushed her hair behind her ear. “006?”

“James is back.”

The tone of Alec's voice, as well as the look on his face, stopped R from calling out the news immediately. “And?” she prompted, stepping out from around the terminal. “You don't sound like you're bring me good news. Is the agent... viable?”

Alec hesitated, and then nodded. “He's not injured. Not any more than normal, at least.”

“But?”

“He's wound. Tightly. And not in shape to see anyone.”

R ran a hand through her hair, sighing quietly. “Tell him that Q is here, at least. He should know he has a place to go if he wants to.”

Alec laughed quietly. “He won't. He needs a day or two. He just...” 

“He's just James,” Q said from the doorway to his office. R looked up guiltily, but he waved her off. “It's fine. His mental stability is more important than some holiday.” He ran his fingers through his hair, and then his shoulders slumped slightly. “I believe I'll be leaving, now. Can you handle the Branch?”

It was pure surprise that made R say, “Of course. Go home, Q. We've got things under control.”

Q barely acknowledged her words, waving a hand at her and Alec. “Don't distract my replacement,” he cautioned the agent, and then picked up his jacket and left the Branch.

R watched him go, and then turned to Alec, narrowing her eyes at his smirk. “Where did you say James was?”

“I didn't.”

*

Q's movements were sluggish by the time he arrived at his flat. He fumbled with his keys, and then pushed the door open, giving a groan when he saw that the lights were already on. “Are you serious?” he said, dropping his keys and his laptop bag on the dining room table. “R was giving herself an aneurism trying to figure out how to tell me that I wasn't going to get to see you on New Year's Eve.”

Bond's eyes flickered up from where he was sitting in Q's armchair, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. “You were supposed to stay in Q-Branch.”

Q casually raised his middle finger at the agent as he stepped into his kitchen, pouring himself a glass of bourbon to match Bond's. “Well, I'm not going to vacate my own flat so you can have somewhere to decompress. Alec is still there, with R. I'm sure he'd love to spend some time with you. Until you decide I'm worthy of your presence, again.”

Q's words had a bite to them that he hadn't entirely intended, but he didn't apologize for them, either. There was a slight squeak of skin across glass as Bond's fingers tightened on his tumbler, and when he spoke again, his voice was stiff. “Is that your way of telling me to leave?”

Q knocked back the drink before setting the glass down in the sink. “That's my way of telling you to do whatever the hell you please. If you came here because you thought I wouldn't be, then logic would dictate that you should leave. If that's not why, then you're more than welcome to stay. Either way, I am going to bed. Goodnight, 007.”

He was halfway down the hall before the agent spoke again.

“I tend to steal blankets when I'm like this.”

Q stopped, turning to look at the back of Bond's head. “I'll get some more out of the closet, then. Anything else?”

Bond set the glass down and got to his feet. He turned, and the gaunt, haunted look on his face told Q more than he words ever could have. He held out his hand, and Bond stepped forward, slipping his fingers into the spaces between Q's. The hacker led him into the bedroom, then, and undressed him while the agent watched with unfocussed eyes.

He laid the blond down and got the blankets out of the closet, spreading them out over the bed. Making quick work of his own clothes, he slid into bed next to the agent, letting out an 'oof' of surprise when Bond plastered himself to his chest. The agent's arms snaked around his waist, and he pressed his face into the boffin's neck, inhaling deeply.

It was as close to an apology as Q was ever going to get.

“Text me next time,” he said in Bond's hair, gently smoothing a hand down Bond's back. “It's hell not knowing where you are.” 

Bond made a noise in his throat, burrowing closer. Somewhere in his mind, Q realized that there were fireworks going off, and there were people shouting, and with a slightly exasperated sound, he snapped his fingers and the lights turned off. The walls soundproofed themselves as well, and the curtains closed. It took a moment, but Bond finally relaxed a little, his grip on Q becoming less desperate.

“Better?”

Bond hummed, nodding. “Thought so,” Q answered. “Happy New Year, James. I'm making it your resolution to let me take care of you ever bloody now and then.”

The huff of air that hit his collarbone sounded disturbingly like a chuckle. “And if I don't?”

“I'm going to withhold sex, you utter lunatic.”

Bond bit his retaliation into the crook of Q's neck. “You'd go mad.”

“Then don't make me.” Q brought his hand up, curling it lightly over the back of Bond's neck. “Because, honestly, I'd much rather take care of you in ways that leave you limp and pliant.”

“If this is about me retiring...”

Q shook his head. “Just about you letting me see you like this, as James. Not Bond, not 007. Just James. My James.”

“Possessive little shit, aren't you?” Bond's lips moved against Q's skin, but his heartbeat had already slowed, and his breaths had evened. “And what is your resolution, pray tell?”

Q nosed lightly at Bond's hair. He said nothing for a long time, not until Bond had drifted off with his face tucked into Q's neck, and their legs tangled together. Then he leaned down and kissed the shell of Bond's ear and let out his promise in a whispered, heartfelt breath.

“/Ut eruat te/.”**

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt was from [kissofflame](http://kissofflame.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr, and it was "Working late, Q is resigned to another NYE alone…or maybe not."
> 
> *[Dabbous](http://www.dabbous.co.uk/) is a five-star restaurant in London.  
> **"Ut Eruat Te" means "to keep you safe" in Latin.


End file.
